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Friday, June 10, 2005
'On A Mission'
By Jonah Jane G. Enterina
"MAAYADHA Masulom." It means Good Morning among our Higaonon brothers in Besigan. I opened my planner to take note of the scheduled date of our Dehonian Mission. May 12-22, 2005. It started early as I expected. But the place where I will be assigned was not. I had hoped before that I will be assigned once again to Besigan and God heard my prayers.
Vicmar, Camang, Dongo-an and Man-ai are the other 4 mission areas and all 56 of us missionaries are divided among these places.
Besigan is really far from the city. You can walk your way up and down the mountain for about an hour and a half starting from Talakag, Bukinon. Or you can give yourself a ride from Cagayan passing rocky roads of Tignapoloan, Salimbal and Camang.
What was the mission all about? It was our loving response to the call of Jesus to reach out to our brothers in the mountains. It also helps in the vocational discernment of young men and women. Flores de Mayo, Youth Formation, House to House Visitation and Medical Mission are among the activities facilitated.
Moreover, missionaries themselves are formed through constant dialog and honest communication with his co-missionaries on how to go about the activities. Each day we begin with Morning Praise and later in the evening, our Evening Praises and daily evaluation of what has transpired during the day. Clashing of personalities among us missionaries that leads to conflicts and misunderstandings are quite normal. Though different in personality styles, we compliment.
In just 11 short days, we learned a lot. One is their Language. It is simple to learn their dialect. I guess if you stay there for a month, you will learn in no time. To cite a few, read on:
"Hindo ka pa-iling" means "Where are you going? " "Hindo ka pu-on?" means "Where have you been?" "Maayadha Mahapon" means "Good Afternoon" and "Ino Sangadano" means "What is your name? "
Way of living
Most of our Higaonon brothers are farmers. They plant corn, lut-ya and gabi. Seeing them do their hard work in the farm under the scourging heat of the sun, I salute them for their patience and trust in God for they have to wait 4 long months for the corn to take it's maturity.
In one of our home visitations, two old couple aged 75 are still working in the farm. They've got no one to depend on but themselves and God. All of their children are already married and have gone their separate ways with their own family. It is so touching to see these two old couple continuing to live their life in spite of the fact that they are already old and suffering from various bodily pains. What strikes my heart even more is that they don't even have some reasons to complain. I cannot forget the look in their eyes having great trust in God. And I have never seen a couple so happy, smiling and satisfied. They have taught us the value of being grateful to God whatever circumstances that comes along the way.
Many of our Higaonon brothers live simple lives. They don't have much in terms of material and financial matters. And I consider them as one of the best educators for they have taught us the value of great simplicity, patience and perseverance.
May we learn from them and appreciate life even more.
(June 10, 2005 issue)
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